Conroe to raze dilapidated theater building

For the time being, 80 parking spaces will soon grace the site of the about-to-be-demolished Liberty Theater, just south of Conroe's downtown square.

Efforts to save the building the city paid its former owners $275,000 for have proven unsuccessful due to a number of structural and environmental problems, chief among them the presence of asbestos.

It will cost about $160,000 to demolish the old theater. That amount was included in budgeting when the city decided to buy the structure.

"We knew from the beginning we might have to tear the building down due to its condition," said City Attorney Marcus Winberry. "The total amount — the purchase price and the demolition cost — were included in the original budget to buy the building."

Councilman Jay Ross Martin said tearing the building down is the most fiscally responsible approach.

"We had hoped the building could have been rehabilitated, but we realized from the outset that the building might be beyond salvation," Martin said.

"However, we also knew that letting these properties wind up in private sales would not let the city progress with its plans for downtown redevelopment," he said. "Having it in the city's inventory also protects the Crighton Theatre and, at some point in the future, the site might also become part of a bigger plan for downtown redevelopment."